Lawn-edge trimmer



(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 1. H. H. DILLE.

LAWN EDGE TRIMMER.

No; 427,406. Patented May a, 1890.

(No Model.)

4 Shets-Sheet 2. H. H. DILLE'. LAWN EDGE TRIMMER. No. 427,406.

Paten te d May 6, 1890. 1

ms in: 0a., PHOTD-LIYM w (No Model.) 4 Sheets8heet 3.

H. H. DILLE.

LAWN EDGE TRIMMER.

No. 427,406. Patented May 6-, 1890.

ITIIIII) m: nonnls PETE-R6 00., Puma-mac WASHINOTDN n I:

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY H. DILLE, OF RICHMOND, INDIANA.

LAWN-EDGE TRIMMER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 427,406, dated May 6,1890.

Application filed August 1, 1889- Seria.l No. 319,375. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY I-I. DILLE, of Richmond, in the county ofWayne, and in the State of Indiana, have invented certain new and usefulImprovem ents in Lawn-Edge Trim mers; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 shows aperspective view of my improved lawn-edge trimmer; Fig. 2, a view of thesame in side elevation; Fig. 3, a top plan view of the s; me; Fig. 4, asimilar view of the apparatus with the swinging knifeactuating leverremoved; Fig. 5, a perspective view of the under side of such lever;Fig. 6, a section of the apparatus on line 20 w of Fig. 3; Fig. 7, adetail perspective showing the stud on the knife and the notched end ofthe actuating-lever separated from each other; Fig. 8, a cross-sectionof the apparatus on line 00 w of Fig. 3; Fig. 9, a section of one of thesupporting-wheels 011 line y y of Fig. 3; Fig. 10, a plan view of amodified form of my trimmer, and Fig. 11 a similar view of the mainframe of such modified form with the swinging blades and theoperating-lever removed.

Letters of like name and kind refer to like parts in each of thefigures.

The object of my invention is to provide an improved lawn-edge trimmer;and to this end myinvention consists in the trimmer and in theconstruction, arrangement, and combination of the parts thereof, ashereinafter specified.

In the drawings, A designates the main frame of my machine. It ispreferably cast in one piece, with studs or short axles a a on oppositesides of it for the reception of the hubs of the supporting-wheels B B.Any desired means for holding the wheels upon the studs or axles can beused instead of the pins 1) l), passing through holes in the studs, asshown in the drawings. The hub of each wheel I prefer to cast with acountersink around .the inner end of its axle-receiving opening, asshown at b in Fig. 9, as such construction enables me to cast thewheel-hub clean and ready to go upon the framestud or axle without thenecessity of any machine-work or subsequent shaping of the hub or theaxle-opening therein.

On the front side of the'frame A of the apparatus (shown in Figs. 1 toS, inclusive) are two forwardly-extending fingers O 0, having on theirinner sides cutting-edges c c, extending outward in opposite directionsaway from each other, as indicated best-in Figs. 3 and 4.. The lines ofsuch edges are preferably slightly curved instead of straight, thoughthey can be straight, if desired, without departure from myinvention.The upper face of each finger G is made slightly inclined upward fromthe the outer side of the finger to the cuttingedge, so that such edgeis higher than the rest of the top surface- Upon the frame, in line withthe center of v the space between the two fingers, is theupwardly-extending stud D, upon which is pivoted the swinging knife E,having its opposite sides sharpened to act in conjunction with thecutting-edge on one or the other of fingers C G as the knife swings inone direction or the other over such fingers. The cutting edges on theswinging knife, which are at the pivotal portion of the latter widerapart than the inner or rear portions of the edges 011 the fingers,gradually approach each other toward the outer end of the knife, asshown.

The result of the described arrangement of the cutting-edges on thefingers and the swinging knife is that an easy shearing out is securedas the knife swings in either direction. Such swinging knife can befastened or held in any desired way upon its pivot.

As shown in the drawings, there is a bolt (Z, extending up through thestud D, provided with a nut (Z, engaging a washer (P, which projectsover and engages a portion of the pivotal part of theknife surroundingthe stud. The pivotal opening in the knife is preferably made a triflelarger than the stud D, so as not to fit the same too closely, for apurpose to be described hereinafter. Upon the upper side of itspivot-opening is an upwardly-projecting stud E, made elliptical, as seenin plan view. (See Figs. 3 and 4) In the upper end of this stud is adepression or hollow E Extending rearward from the pivotal portion ofthe knife E is the arm E in line with the middle line of the blade. Inthe drawings I show the the knife at a point forward ofnular rib orflange E extending around the portion of the knife engaged by the washerd Such flanges or ribs can, however, be dispensed with, if desired,without departure from my invention. The sides of stud E on the swingingknife are slightly inclined upward and inward, so asto approach eachother toward the top of the stud. I

The frame A hasits rear portion elevated, so that its upper surface isabove the knife pivot stud D and the bolt and nut for holding the knifein place on such stud. Arranged on this elevated part of the frame, inline with the center of the space between the cutting-edges on fingers CO and the stud D, is another pivot-stud F, upon which is pivotedthelever G, having its forward end projecting over the swinging knife E,provided with a notch or slot g, engaging the stud E on said knife. Onthe under side of thelever are two downwardly-extending lugs g g,situated so as to stand on'opposite sides of the arm E and in the pathof such arm as the lever and knife E are swung in one direction or theother. As the arm travels in a direction opposite to the cutting portionof the blade and the lever G, each lug g will when it engages the arm Eact as a stop to prevent its further movement, and so limit the motionof the knife and lever. The lugs are arranged at such distance apartthat they will not meet and engage the arm E until the knife E has swungfar enough to carry its cutting edges or sides over the edges on arms 0O. The lever G is shown as held upon its pivot-stud F in the same way asknife E by means of a bolt g nut 9 and washer g. Attached to lever G isa strong spring-arm H, whose forward end engages the top of stud E onthe swinging knife, so as to press said knife down and hold it so as itswings from side to side over the edges on the fingers.

Extending upward and rearward from the elevated part of the frame is anarm I for attachment of a suitable handle I. The lever G has a similararm I for attachment of the operating-handle I of any desired form orlength.

The swinging knife is preferably made concave on its under side, asindicated in Fig. 8,

' to facilitate the formation and maintaining of the desired sharpcutting-edges at its sides (hiring use of the machine.

In the modified form of trimmer, as shown' in Figs. 10 and 11, there arethree fingers C C Q and two swinging knives E. The middle fingeris atapering one, with its sides appreaching each other toward its point,preferably on a curved line. Both sides of such finger have thecutting-edges c c, and the upper face of the finger is preferably madeslightly concave or grooved longitudinally, with the sides of theconcavity or groove inclined upward toward the opposite cuttingedges.There are on the frame two pivotstuds D 1), upon which are pivoted thetwo knives E, similar in construction to the knife shown and describedhereinbefore. Each of such studs is situated to therear of one of thespacesbetween the center finger and one of the outer fingers and in linewith the middle of such space. The knife-actuating lever, pivoted, asbefore, upon a stud F, has two I notches or slots 9 g, each engaging thestud E on one of the knives, and two springs H H, each pressing downupon one of such studs, so as to force the respective knife downwardtoward the plane of the edges in conjunction with which its edges are toact.

The size of wheel which I prefer for supporting the frame A is aboutthree and one-half inches in diameter.

The bottom of the lowest portion of the frame, with fingers O O, I makeso as to be about three-quarters of an inch from the lower face of thewheels. These proportions and dimensions, while they are what I prefer,can be varied as desired without departure from my invention.

It will be observed from the drawings that in the single form of machinethe two fingers and in the double form the two outer fingers not onlyhave their inner cutting-edges extending forward and outward indiverging lines, but are themselves also inclined away from each other.

The operation of my machine, which will be understood from the drawingsand hereinbefore-given description, is briefly as follows: \Vhilc tiltedat any desired angle the machine can be moved along and the knife orknives can be swung by lever G so as to cut any grass or weeds comingbetween the fingers against the cutting-edges on the latter. With suchcutting-edges curved and extending outward from each other, asdescribed, and the edges of the swinging knife extending in linesconverging toward the forward end of the knife, an easy shearing ordrawing cut can always be secured. The spring H, provided for eachswinging knife, bearing, as it does, upon the stud which is beyond andforward of the knife-pivot, forces the knife downward, so that it alwaysshears closely over the edges of the fingers. Vith the knife-pivotopening fitting the pivot-stud loosely, as described hereinbefore, theknife can yield to this action of the spring. lVith the sides of thestud E on the knife inclined, or the stud made slightly tapering upward,as described, the engagement of the sides of the notch or slot g in theactuating-lever with the stud sides will also tend to force the swingingknife into close contact with the finger-edges as it passes over thelatter, and the greater the resistance of the article being cut and thegreater the power required to cut it the closer will the knife be causedto bind the cutting-edge of the finger. As each swinging blade is thuscaused to pass in close contact with the edges of the fingers, its ownedges will be kept sharpened. The concaving of the under side of theknife leaves only a small portion of metal along each side of the bladeto be worn or rubbed away, so as to keep the knife-edges sharp. Thespring II, as the knife or the fingers are worn away, will always forcethe knife farther down, so as to always keep its edges in proper cuttingrelation to the finger-edges.

The operation of the double form of machine is precisely like that ofthe single one, except that the two knives cut alternately against theinner edges of the outer fingers and the edges of the middle finger.

With my machine constructed as shown and described grass or weeds can beout along lawn-edges, beside walls or curbs, and even in right-angledcorners. Every blade of grass close to a wall can easily be out if themachine be moved along and operated with one of its fingers passingalong the wall-face. The machine can also be successfully operated whenturned at any angle to suit the surface over which it is being moved.

If desired, the cutting-edges of the fingers, instead of being formed onthe fingers themselves, can be on suitable ledger-plates fastened to thefingers.

I prefer to make the slot or notch g in the end of lever G with itswalls inclined at a slight angle downwardly and outwardly away from eachother, as indicated in Figs. 5 and 7. Theangle of such inclination isthe same as that of the sides of the stud E. Such an arrangement Iprefer, as it insures the best engagement of the slot sides with thestud and also the best results in forcing the knife down closer to thefinger-edges whenever there is any resistance to the cutting action,

. as described hereinbefore.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. In a lawn-edgetrimmer, in combination with a suit-able frame having fingers providedwith cutting-edges, the swinging knife piv-.

oted to the frame, and the spring attached to a support independent ofthe knife, acting upon the latter only at a point beyond its pivot topress the knife down toward the fingers as it swings over them,substantially as and for the purpose shown.

2. In alawn-edge trimmer, in combination with a suitable frame havingthe forwardlyexten din g fingers provided with cuttin g-edges, theswinging knife pivoted upon the frame to the rear of the space betweenthe cuttingedges on the fingers, and a spring acting upon the knife onlyat a point forward of its pivot, so as to press the knife toward theplane of the edges on the fingers, substantially as and for the purposeset forth.

3. I11 a lawn-edge trimmer, in combination with a suitable frame havingfingers with cutting-edges, the swinging knife pivoted to the frame and11: ving the stud forward of its pivot and on the opposite side of theknife from the fingers, and the lever also pivoted to the frame to therear of the swinging knife and having an arm projecting over the knifeprovided with a slot engaging the stand on the knife, substantially asand for the purpose described.

4. In a lawn-edge trimmer, in combination 7o wit-h a suitable framehaving the fingers with cutting-edges, the swinging knife pivoted to theframe and having the stud beyond its pivot with inclined sides andsituated on the opposite side of the knife from the fingers,

and the lever pivoted to the frame to the rear of the knife-pivot andhaving the slot engaging the stud on the knife, substantially as and forthe purpose specified.

5. In combination with the frame having the fingers provided withcuttingedges, the swinging cutter pivoted to the frame and provided witha stud forward of its pivot, the lever also pivoted to the frame andhaving a slot or notch engaging the stud on the knife,

and the spring on the lever also engaging such stud, substantially asand for the purpose shown.

6.111 combination with the frame having the forwardly-projecting fingersprovided. 0

with cuttingedges, the swinging knife pivoted to the frame and providedwith the lug with inclined sides situated on the knife forward of itspivot, the knife-actuating lever pivoted to the frame and having a slotor notch engaging the stud on the knife, and the spring attached to thelever and engaging the lug, substantially as and for the purpose setforth.

'7. In a lawn-edge trimmer, in combination with a suitable frame havingforwardly-extending fingers provided with cutting-edges, the swingingforwardly-extending knife piv oted to the frame and provided withthestud and the arm, respectively forward and to the I05 engage and act asstops for the arm on the I knife, substantially as and for the purposedescribed.

8. In combination with the frame having projecting fingers provided withcuttingedges, the knife swinging. over such edges, 5

pivoted to the frame by a loose pivotal connection, and a springattached to a part of the machine outside of the knife and pressing theforward portion of the knife down toward the plane of the finger-edgesas it I swings, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

9. In combination with the frame provided with one or more fingers, eachhaving a cutting-edge, and the pivoted stud on the frame, 5

the swinging knife having the pivotal opening loosely fitting such stud,and a spring attached to a support outside of the knife and acting uponthe knife beyond its pivot to hold its portion forward of the pivot downupon I3 the finger or fingers as it swings, substantially as and for thepurpose shown.

10. In combination with the frame provided with one or moreforwardly-extending fingers,

each provided with a cutting-edge, a pivot, stud on the frame, the knifeswinging over the finger or fingers, having the pivotal opening looselyfitting the stud on the frame, and forward of such opening having anupwardlyextending stud on its top, and an aetuatinglever provided with anotch or slot engaging sueh stud, substantially as and for the purposeset forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I I0 have hereunto set my handthis 22d day of July, A. D. 1889.

HENRY H. DILLE. \Vitnesses:

CHARLES C. BINKLEY, JAMES C. WALTERS.

